New Delhi, Jan. 24 -- Haiti's long-running political crisis deepened Friday when the country's transitional presidential council announced it had voted to fire Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime, just two weeks before the panel is supposed to step down.

Edgard Leblanc Fils made the announcement at a news conference alongside fellow council member Leslie Voltaire, saying a majority of the panel took the step in a vote Thursday, defying calls from the U.S. government to maintain stability in the Caribbean country's leadership. No other members of the panel were at the news conference.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement late Thursday that keeping Fils-Aime on in the position was "integral" to Haiti's efforts to overcome the ga...